Search

Peripheral nerve gaps exceeding 1 cm require a bridging repair strategy. Clinical feasibility of autogenous nerve grafting is limited by donor site comorbidity. In this study we investigated neuroregenerative efficacy of autogenous vein grafts implanted with tissue fragments from distal nerve in combination with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in repair of rat peripheral nerve defects. Six-groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 8 each) were evaluated in the autogenous setting using a 1.6 cm long peroneal nerve defect: Empty vein graft (group 1), Nerve graft (group 2), Vein graft and nerve fragments (group 3), Vein graft and nerve fragments and blank microspheres (group 4), Vein graft and nerve fragments and VEGF microspheres (group 5), Vein graft and nerve fragments and MSCs (group 6). Nerve fragments were derived from distal segment. Walking track analysis, electrophysiology and nerve histomorphometry were performed for assessment. Peroneal function indices (PFI), electrophysiology (amplitude) and axon count results for group 2 were -9.12 ± 3.07, 12.81 ± 2.46 mV, and 1697.88 ± 166.18, whereas the results for group 5 were -9.35 ± 2.55, 12.68 ± 1.78, and 1566 ± 131.44, respectively. The assessment results did not reveal statistical difference between groups 2 and 5 (P > 0.05). The best outcomes were seen in group 2 and 5 followed by group 6. Compared to other groups, poorest outcomes were seen in group 1 (P ≤ 0.05). PFI, electrophysiology (amplitude) and axon count results for group 1 were -208.82 ± 110.69, 0.86 ± 0.52, and 444.50 ± 274.03, respectively. Vein conduits implanted with distal nerve-derived nerve fragments improved axonal regeneration. VEGF was superior to MSCs in facilitating nerve regeneration. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 36:578-585, 2016., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Unlabelled: Facial defect reconstruction is a challenge for plastic surgeons due to unique esthetic and functional properties of the region. Facial tissue expansion provides an ideal reconstruction resource. However, the donor site is limited in the facial region. Thus, a cost-effective expansion management is crucial for an efficient reconstruction. In this article, the evolution of our donor site preference for tissue expansion from pure healthy tissue to a defect-healthy tissue combination is presented. Fifteen patients underwent skin reconstruction with local tissue expansion for facial and cervical defects. The full facial or cervical region including the defect and healthy tissue combination was determined as the donor expansion site. The donor site was not limited only to pure healthy tissue. The largest size rectangular expander suitable for the combined expandable donor site size was placed under the defect and healthy tissue border, paying attention to carry the expander far beneath the defect site. The defect site and most adjacent healthy tissue were expanded simultaneously. Major complications such as infection, hematoma, rupture, or flap necrosis were not observed. The expansion of defect-healthy tissue border presented successful reconstruction results with acceptable scars. In the traditional tissue expansion concept, using a large size expander to provide more abundant flap gain does not comply with the limited size of healthy donor site in the face. Expanding the whole facial region, without restriction of the defect, supplies excess donor tissue area for larger size expander use. Eventually, defect-healthy tissue border expansion with large expanders results in minimum final scar and less tissue loss in flap relocation and enables optimal flap gain. This method can easily be adapted to any tissue expansion site of the body., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Caustic chemicals cause destruction in tissues even long after the initial exposure. This study reported a case of recurrent graft lysis encountered throughout the treatment of a sodium hydroxide burn. A caustic burn on the ankle of a patient was reconstructed with split thickness skin grafts thrice in a period of four months. The burn site healed uneventfully after each skin grafting. However, weeks after each successful graft take, even though the patient did not experience any trauma at his operated ankle, an eczematous blistering at the skin graft site was observed. Thereafter, skin grafts almost totally sloughed over time even after each successful graft take. Six months after the initial burn and recurrent skin graft lysis, the defect site was reconstructed with medial plantar flap. At the postoperative ninth month follow-up, there was no sign of the blistering or skin loss at the burn area after definitive flap surgery. Recurrent graft lysis, in a few weeks after total skin graft take is an unusual complication for most of the burn cases. Caustic burns may have a deceptively superficial appearance concealing the chemical reactions that further damage the tissue. Therefore, early surgical interventions such as deep debridement and graft surgery should be kept in mind as primary treatment options.

The principal aim of skin expansion is to provide additional donor tissue without extra donor-site morbidity. Most of the reports about tissue expansion are focused on the properties of expander. Donor-site decision is usually underestimated. Here, we offer to use the defect area and surrounding healthy tissue as the donor site.In 4 cases, expanders were placed just under the defect in a fashion to extend 1 to 2 cm more laterally toward the encircling healthy tissue. The expanded tissue was not mobilized for longer distances; thus, there was no loss in flap gain. The resulting final scar was linear or crescentic. In the Alagoz technique, tissue gain similar in size to the defect is sufficient for reconstruction. The simpler the flap, the best the resulting scar.

Breast reduction techniques strive to obtain a final aesthetic breast shape. The most difficult issues to address after breast surgery are providing consistent upper pole fullness and preventing recurrent ptosis. Our surgical approach is a superior pedicle vertical scar breast reduction with an inferior pedicle chest wall-based flap to enhance the projection of the breast. We describe our refinements to the previously described similar techniques to provide upper pole fullness with long-lasting breast shape and prevent the bottoming out deformity. Twenty-five patients underwent reduction mammoplasty and/or mastopexy (15 mastopexy, 10 reduction mammoplasty) using modified superior pedicle reduction mammoplasty supported with inferior pedicle chest wall-based flaps between 2009 and 2013. Medical records and follow-up outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. Scar widening was acceptable even for larger reduction cases. The aesthetic results of both reduction and mastopexy cases were satisfying. Upper pole fullness was maintained in the long-term follow-up. Significant bottoming out was not observed. No skin excess was noted at the inferior fold region in any of the cases. In our modified technique, tissue is excised in a beveled fashion under the superior pedicle and pillars, particularly from the lateral; hence, the chest wall flap does not cause tissue excess at the upper infra-areolar site of the vertical scar. Flexibility in choosing the location from which to remove the breast tissue provides a custom-made approach to shape each breast. The long-term results of our technique demonstrate minimal breast descent and sufficient upper pole fullness.

Unlabelled: Nasal deformities affecting the bone and lower two-thirds of the nose due to the loss of septal height and tip support are defined as "saddle-nose" deformity. Reconstruction of a saddle-nose deformity essentially necessitates structural grafting. This article presents an alternative approach for correction of saddle-nose deformity using a microplate and costal cartilage. The results are compared with those of the previously applied costal cartilage repair methods. Between 2004 and 2013, 16 patients were treated with costal cartilage autografts. Of these 16 patients, 7 were treated with a microplate and costal cartilage autograft combination, 4 were treated with a costal cartilage autograft and Kirschner (K)-wire, and 5 were treated with onlay costal cartilage grafts. The mean follow-up periods were 16 months for group treated with microplate-adapted autologous costal cartilage, 12 months for the group treated with K-wire and autologous costal cartilage, and 16 months for the group treated with onlay costal cartilage. The patients treated with K-wire inserted cartilages and the patients treated onlay dorsal costal cartilages encountered complications such as extrusion of the wire and warping, respectively. The seven patients treated with microplate and dorsal onlay costal cartilage graft did not experience any infection, warping, or extrusion complication. The warping tendency of the costal cartilage autograft can be efficiently prevented without a prominent complication risk by using microplate-adapted costal cartilage grafts., Level of Evidence Iv: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Aims: The objective of this study was to describe nosocomial infection (NI) rates, risk factors, etiologic agents, antibiotic susceptibility, invasive device utilization and invasive device associated infection rates in a burn intensive care unit (ICU) in Turkey., Methods: Prospective surveillance of nosocomial infections was performed according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) criteria between 2001 and 2012. The data was analyzed retrospectively., Results: During the study period 658 burn patients were admitted to our burn ICU. 469 cases acquired 602 NI for an overall NI rate of 23.1 per 1000 patient days. 109 of all the cases (16.5%) died. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (241), Acinetobacter baumannii (186) and Staphylococcus aureus (69) were the most common identified bacteria in 547 strains., Conclusion: Total burn surface area, full thickness burn, older age, presence of inhalation injury were determined to be the significant risk factors for acquisition of NI. Determining the NI profile at a certain burn ICU can lead the medical staff apply the appropriate treatment regimen and limit the drug resistance. Eleven years surveillance report presented here provides a recent data about the risk factors of NI in a Turkish burn ICU., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents an unusual case of frostbite injury to the breast area caused by faulty cryotherapy application. Cryotherapy, commonly used by patients and health professionals, relieves pain and edema after trauma and sports injuries. However, applying cold therapy is not common for surgical procedures involving soft tissue. The frostbite injury to the breast presented here occurred due to persistent use of a self-prepared ice pack following a needle aspiration biopsy. Cold exposure to soft tissue may cause frostbite. It is crucial to inform patients about proper application of cryotherapy and possible complications, particularly for the procedures in which cold therapy is not widely used.

A rare case of pediatric brachial plexus laceration is presented. A five-year-old boy who sustained a sharp laceration on his right axillary region was immediately operated. The axillary artery, radial, ulnar and musculocutaneous nerve branches of the brachial plexus, and the lateral root of the median nerve were totally lacerated. The medial root of the median nerve was partially transected. All of the lacerated brachial plexus elements and axillary artery were immediately repaired. Significant functional recovery was determined even six months after the repair. Motor and sensory functions of the affected extremity were almost totally restored at the postoperative 21st month, except for the ulnar nerve motor functions. There was no cold intolerance or trophic change at the injured extremity. Primary repair of a brachial plexus laceration injury in the pediatric population can be expected to produce successful functional recovery results, even in a relatively short period after the repair.

Tensor fascia latae (TFL) myocutaneous flap, utilized as a novel approach for the successful functional repair of the foot drop deformity is presented in this case report. A 21-year-old male patient was subjected to a close-range high-velocity gunshot injury and sustained comminuted Gustillo-type IIIB open fracture of his left tibia. A composite skin and soft tissue defect including tibialis anterior and extansor hallucis longus tendons was determined. The injury was managed in two stages. In the first stage, the immediate reconstruction of the open tibia fracture was provided by using a reverse flow sural flap and external fixation of the fracture. The functional restoration was achieved by vascular fascia latae in the second stage, 6 months after the initial skin, soft tissue, and bone defect repair. The functional recovery was successful, and the foot drop gait was almost totally ameliorated. Reconstruction with TFL flap should be retained in the armamentarium for the functional repair of the foot drop deformity, caused by composite skin and soft tissue defects of the pretibial region., (Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: In an acute burn injury the zone of stasis is initially vital but may progress to coagulation necrosis with time. In this study, salvage of the zone of stasis was aimed at by subcutaneous mesenchymal stem cell injection., Methods: Mesenchymal stem cells were obtained from the bone marrow of Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 10). Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats received thermal injury on the back according to the previously described "comb burn" model. Thirty minutes after the burn injury, mesenchymal stem cells were injected subcutaneously to the stasis zone of the experimental group (n = 10). Animals in the control group (n = 10) were given the same amount of saline without mesenchymal stem cells. Animals in the sham group (n = 6) did not receive any thermal trauma. Seventy-two hours after the burn injury, scintigraphic examination was applied to determine average vital tissue at the stasis zone. Thereafter, skin samples were assessed by immunohistochemistry assay for apoptosis count. The blood samples drawn before and 72 hours after the burn injury were analyzed to determine systemic cytokine levels., Results: The apoptosis count of the control group was found to be significantly higher than that of the experimental group. Vital tissue percentage of the stasis zone was significantly higher for the experimental group than for the control group. The cytokine levels did not reveal any statistically significant difference between the groups., Conclusion: Apoptosis count and scintigraphic results of this study confirm that mesenchymal stem cell treatment has a statistically significant benefit for the survival of the stasis zone in acute burn.

Oligodontia may cause various problems during orthognathic surgery because it may be difficult to fix the surgical guide splints. The aim of this clinical report was to present an alternative technique for intermaxillary fixation of a patient with oligodontia and facial deformity. A 20-year-old male patient, whose 8 maxillary and 11 mandibular teeth were congenitally missing, was treated using bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Before the surgical approach, fixed mandibular prosthesis containing pins on the vestibule sides of the crowns was constructed to provide anchorage for intermaxillary splint and to achieve occlusal stability and vertical dimension during the surgery. This prosthesis was also used to hang intraoral elastics during the postoperative orthodontic treatment. At the end of treatment, these pins were cut, composite restoration material was applied to camouflage the places of the pins, and the patient continued to use this prosthesis. The patient gained an appropriate facial aesthetics and oral function using multidisciplinary approach.

Background: This study evaluates the possibility of enhancing the beneficial effect of the delay procedure by using hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and the possibility of lessening the time required for maximal effect of delay procedure., Methods: Eight male Wistar rats were used in each of 10 groups. The surgical delay method was applied to the caudally based dorsal rat flap by incising the longitudinal borders and undermining the flap. In the first five groups, 3-, 7-, 10-, 14-, and 21-day delay periods were applied, and in the other five groups, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was applied during the delay periods. Blood circulation was measured with a laser Doppler flowmeter, and flap survival lengths were recorded. Histological analysis for vascular counting and determining vascular areas and microangiographic analysis for monitoring vascular status were performed., Results: In addition to the flap viabilities being increased, the maximum effect of the delay procedure could be achieved earlier with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Blood circulation in the flaps, vascular counts, and vascular areas were increased by applying hyperbaric oxygen during the delay period. Microangiographic results confirmed the beneficial effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment., Conclusions: Hyperbaric oxygen treatment during the delay period can lessen the time period needed for the delay procedure and increase the effect of the delay itself.